House Hunting Etiquette

Have you been pre-approved for a mortgage?

Have you started looking for your starter home and or your dream home? Maybe you are wondering what you need to know and what you should do before you begin checking out open houses.

We’ve already covered the timeline to possession in a previous blog but we thought it would be beneficial to understand house hunting etiquette in order to best understand the viewing process and in order to best utilize your time.

1) Show up on time:

We get it, life happens. No problem. If you are running you late call ahead and let your agent know you will be late. This is good etiquette for any situation in which you might be late. They might have other showings after you that they need to move back a little but to ensure you have adequate time to go through the entire home and have all your questions answered.

2) Be honest:

If you are working with an agent tell the person who is showing you the home. If you do like the house and you do want to make an offer the process will be a lot smoother on everyone if all parties are clear on who represents who.

Tell us what you like and do not like about the house. It’s not our house! We are open to all feedback as it gives information to tell the homeowners and they might be able to make improvements in order to sell their home quicker.

3) Don’t waste time:

It is okay if you do not like the house you have seen. Be honest. Tell the person showing you the home if you would like more information or not. If you do want more information – you will remain informed. If you say you want more information because you want to be polite then you and the person who showed you the house are going to be wasting time on emails and phone calls.

The best etiquette for time is to be respectful of it. If we know you do not like the home we can show you something more aligned with your taste, needs and wants.

4) Try not to bring children:

This one is mostly for us. If you bring your children we like to run around and chase them, play hide and seek with them and sometimes we’ve accidentally jumped on a couch or two with them. It’s really fun, but essentially we forget to do our job and educate you about the house. On the other hand, if we don’t entertain them they might need your attention thus taking you away from the best features of the home.

It might be in everyone’s best interest to leave the love bugs with someone who can entertain them for a few hours while we explore their potential new home and bedroom.

5) Take notes:

If you are going to be looking at a few properties write down what stands out and what you don’t like. When you are making a list of things you do not like avoid superficial things such as carpet, lighting, paint and set up. What you should focus on are things you cannot change: the neighbourhood, the home layout, bedrooms, etc.

6) Treat the home with respect:

This is not your home. It might be in the future. But since it is not your home avoid rummaging through drawers and cupboards. Please do not use the washrooms unless it is an absolute emergency. It would be wonderful if you could stay with the person showing you the home throughout the walk through as they have all of the information you need.

We hope you are getting excited to start searching and looking at potential new homes. It is an exciting time and if you follow the above tips we can guarantee it will be an enjoyable process.

Please let us know if we can help you with anything home related Call Danielle today (250).319.5896

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